Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

In a message dated 12/10/2004 4:10:11 PM Central Standard Time, iluvdez@xxxxxxxxx writes:

> The English teacher in me just can't sit on my hands
> any more; I hope no one gets offended by this post or
> feels I'm being critical. I promise I'm not using red
> ink! The word LOSE is often erroneously replaced with
> LOOSE. I first noticed a very respected equine vet
> using them incorrectly in some journal articles
> several years ago; the misuse seems to be spreading
> and it's now very common on Ridecamp. LOSE is a verb
> that often means 'to be unsuccessful in retaining
> possession of' (you lose money or you lose your mind;
> your horse loses his appetite or his shoe). LOOSE is
> usually an adjective and in our sport generally refers
> to 'not tight or confined' (loose horse, loose shoe,
> loose girth). Try to think of it this way: You just
> might lose your loose horse if he decides to gallop
> off into the sunset; one thing that may slow him down
> is if he loses his loose shoe. On rare occasions,
> loose CAN be correctly used as a verb. You can loose -
> most people would use the word loosen - your girth (so
> it's not so tight), which is quite different than if
> you lose your girth (you can't find it). That uncommon
> use of loose as a verb may be what started the
> confusion. I hope I haven't just added to that
> confusion, and I promise this is your only grammar
> lesson for the decade! Kristi   


No offense taken here!  In fact, I'm the same way with similar words...bugs me to see the wrong one used.  "Affect" and "effect" are biggies.  However, I'm notorious for *typing* the wrong word - I'm left-handed and less coordinated with my right hand...I often double (or triple) up on letters typed with my right-hand ring and pinky fingers, especially the letters O, L, and P, and since I type very fast but not all that accurately, and seldom proofread what I type, I often end up with "loose" (or looose  <G>) when I mean "lose," or sometimes "llose" just for grins.  So please give us less-than-accurate typists a break!  I have no doubt I've committed a lot of typing sins on RC!  <G>  I much prefer typing in MS Word, which highlights most of my errors for me!  

Dawn (my fingers can really fly on the keyboard, but Lord knows what they're hitting!  <G>)

Dawn